Reading Between the Lines of the Miami Dolphins

The NFL’s (and Ted Wells’) Latest Attack on the Dolphins

The NFL’s (and Ted Wells’) Latest Attack on the Dolphins

Each time we are close to ending and moving on from the “bullying” fiasco that enveloped much of the Dolphins’ 2013 season, a new wrinkle appears. This time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is apparently ordering–yes, ordering–three grown men to undergo psychiatric evaluations.

There is so much wrong with that; we don’t even know where to begin.

The men in question are Mike Pouncey, Richie Incognito, and John Jerry. All three men teased their friend Jonathan Martin last year, and for that “crime,” Goodell thinks they need therapy.

So what is wrong with that?

Well, first and foremost, Goodell is forgetting one of the key people involved: Jonathan Martin. Why isn’t Jonathan Martin required to get a mental health examination just like Jerry, Pouncey, and Incognito are? Remember–and this is important–Jonathan Martin admitted to showing up drunk. He admitted to drug use. We saw the vulgar, hateful texts he sent to Richie. We saw the threatening texts he sent to Richie. We saw the texts discussing prostitutes. Jonathan Martin engaged in actions that were just as vile as Jerry, Pouncey, and Incognito. Yet he gets to walk away scott free.

Why? Still waiting for Goodell or Ted Wells to reply to that one.

When Richie Incognito sent playful texts to Martin, the Wells Report concluded that Richie was a bully. But when Jonathan Martin sent playful texts to Incognito, Ted Wells says that Martin was just goofing around. A little bit biased?

Tony Dungy reached out to a “troubled” Jonathan Martin and gave Martin about 20 full minutes of air time to talk about his feelings and bash his teammates. But when Richie Incognito checks himself into a mental health facility recently, Tony Dungy was not around. Richie got zero air time? Why?

In the news recently was a story about how many NFL head coaches didn’t bother to read the Wells Report. These coaches ignored the report, rightfully, because it was just a recap of some locker-room teasing that occurred among friends. Does the media really expect championship-caliber coaches like Bill Belichick or Pete Carroll to stop everything and read some report?

Cincy coach Marvin Lewis had an interesting take about the cause of this situation: Lewis said that lack of leadership was the cause, because Jake Long had been the leader. Once the Dolphins let their leader (Long) go, they also let leadership go. Very observant of Marv Lewis. And very true. For well over a year, Dolphins Truth has been spouting off about what a terrible decision it was to kick Jake Long to the curb. Jeff Ireland and Joe Philbin thought that Jonathan Martin was a tougher and more loyal Dolphin. No decision in NFL history has been more wrong. Sadly, Marvin Lewis, a coach of a team two thousand miles away, saw the value of Jake Long when the coach who saw Jake daily could not. Philbin has some making up to do.

Back to Goodell. There is still a strong possibility that Mike Pouncey will be suspended for his role in the teasing. Specifically, Ted Wells claims that Mike Pouncey was lying about how much he remembered. Apparently, Ted Wells remembers every single text message he sent over the past two years. Mike Pouncey could not remember every single text, so that makes him an outright liar, according to Wells. And sadly, Goodell leans toward accepting Wells’ word as gospel. Pouncey didn’t remember a text from 21 months ago…he’s lying ! It’s bad enough that Pouncey will have to undergo a mental examination for teasing his friend, but he might get suspended too. And apparently Stephen Ross hasn’t (publicly anyway) fought this. He hasn’t stuck up for Pouncey. Or Incognito either for that matter, but we all know that’s not gonna happen.

Goodell says that he won’t discipline any players until AFTER they undergo their psychiatric evaluation. (it’s comical that Goodell keeps calling it a “medical” evaluation, but we all know it’s a shrink). So what is Goodell going to do when the shrink comes back and reports that Pouncey, Jerry, and Incognito are all fine. They are stable. They simply teased their friend. That is not what Goodell is expecting, we guarantee you that. But that is what he’s going to get.

Meanwhile, if Goodell would require “victim” Jon Martin to also undergo a mental exam, the same doctor might deem Martin unfit. He ran away in tears once before. A doctor might conclude that he’ll do it again. Why is Goodell avoiding that scenario?

Another interesting component of all this is the fact that Dolphin ticket sales are actually UP. Fans simply do not care about the alleged teasing of Jonathan Martin. Martin tried to bury the Dolphins, but the Dolphin fans will not allow that to happen. One Hundred Percent of the Dolphins players took Incognito’s side of the story. The fans took Incognito’s side of the story. NFL players and coaches alike have taken Incognito’s side of the story. Mr. Ross needs to look at that very carefully.

The fans are not concerned with ridding the world of bullying. We just want a strong, winning team. And we are closer to having such a team with Mike Pouncey on it.

its pretty unbelievable that the media and the NFL can have so much control over people. There are people blogging on profootballtalk.com that are writing like they believe that all of this nonsense in the wells report is actually the truth. the NFL and Roger Goodell are master manipulators. I wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL says the shrink said that pouncey has mental problems, just so the NFL can suspend him and look more credible. I’m so sick of hearing all of the lies that the NFL and the NFL media is putting out there. This whole thing is ridiculous. I personally think that the NFL is fixed. I think the problem is that the NFL and Robert Kraft think that we have some talent on our team ( just bare with me). I know that may sound crazy to you, but if you think about it, the last two years we have been busy in free agency and have accumulated some talent (and a decent QB). I believe, before we even had the ability to be get some momentum, Robert Kraft and the NFL decided they were going to tear us down. Now they have this story in their pocket that they can use whenever they want, lying their butts off every other week now, so our players, coaches, and FO have to keep answering questions about it. AND, they will continue to answer questions about it until the season starts because pouncey now has to be ‘evaluated’ before he is cleared to play. WHAT A FREAKIN JOKE! Look if you think that this theory is unbelievable, just look the 2nd NE game last year. We beat NE with NE only being penalized 1 TIME for 2 yards! one freakin penalty! So we have the talent to beat them and I think they are getting a little nervous. anyways I’m rambling now. I’m getting increasingly pissed off the more I write so ill stop now. Go fish!